A letter of illustration is really a letter towards the AGC that sets out reasons why they must both not charge you, fall fees towards you or seek a selected sentence through the court.
In idea, you may deliver as many letters of illustration as you like, but commonly a lawyer would mail amongst 1–3, based on the strategic criteria which could utilize in your circumstance. This type of letter is usually sent at any phase of proceedings from your investigation phase on the sentencing stage.
A letter of illustration is different from the mitigation plea. A letter of representation is dealt with for the AGC and seeks their settlement relating to some element of your situation.
Conversely, a mitigation plea is actually a lawful submission addressed to and filed which has a sentencing court with the target of providing the courtroom While using the legal and factual bases with the sentence you will be seeking, in circumstances in which you have by now been identified guilty.
What Goes inside of a Letter of Illustration?
Subject reference
A letter of representation, if written by an attorney, generally opens having a reference to the person staying represented while in the letter.
If charges have now been introduced towards that person, the letter could be captioned by reference to the situation number.
End result staying sought
The letter of representation will then typically open up with a quick statement that describes what final result to the situation the letter will seek.
The achievable results Which might be sought include the charges currently being dropped, stern or conditional warnings staying administered or specific sentences getting advisable to your court docket in the party of the guilty plea. These letters are occasionally also marked “with out prejudiceâ€.
Good reasons for the outcome currently being sought
The letter should then set out the points pertinent to the situation that help the result becoming sought. Based on the strategic concerns within your situation, the letter may possibly seek advice from:
Any proof that supports the points on which you count to support the outcome getting sought. Copies of these proof may well even be hooked up into the letter, but the decision on regardless of whether to connect any evidence towards the letter is finally a strategic just one for being taken by a lawyer, using into account many of the instances of your respective situation; or
The existence of witnesses who will corroborate People info. These witnesses may well even be determined with your letter.
Ideally, the letter of illustration must make reference to comparable earlier situations which had resulted in results comparable to those that you are searching for, and reveal how Those people cases are analogous (i.e. factually very similar) to the circumstance.
Your likely subsequent actions
The letter of representation need to then briefly established out your likely upcoming measures, determined by no matter if AGC accedes on your ask for. These techniques can be to assert demo, plead responsible or make some suitable submission to court docket one example is.
Features (if correct)
The letter can, if correct, also include things like features, with or without the need of an admission of guilt, to carry out other items such as publish an apology and/or spend restitution to your sufferer, or to decide to voluntary Local community programmes for instance counselling or charitable get the job done.
Reservation within your legal rights
The letter, if drafted by an attorney, should really conclude having an acknowledgement that the law firm has encouraged you to the lawful penalties of remaining untruthful during the letter and an entire reservation within your legal rights.
You may additionally desire to incorporate an affordable deadline within which you assume to receive a response, Whilst there's no assurance the AGC will have any regard to this.
The way to Mail the Letter of Representation and to Whom
These letters are typically sent in PDF structure by using a generic on the net form taken care of because of the AGC for this goal.
In case your circumstance is at an advanced phase of proceedings even so, your lawyer could also send out it to a specific prosecutor(s) (or ship it to only this sort of certain prosecutor(s)).
What are the Feasible Outcomes On Sending a Letter of Illustration?
In case the AGC decides to accede to the request, they may write again to tell you of the and checklist any circumstances for their settlement.
From time to time, They could ship a counter-supply whereby they offer to recommend a selected sentence to your courtroom, or drop one or more rates, when you comply with plead guilty to some or all of the charges, and/or conform to Several other request including paying out restitution on the sufferer.
If your AGC is unable to accede in your request, chances are you'll get a pretty Criminal lawyer singapore short template response in the AGC stating that, obtaining diligently regarded as your representations, They can be struggling to accede towards your ask for.
Sometimes, no reaction is sent, along with the prosecutor will simply just mention verbally for the court docket that AGC obtained representations Which they will not accede on the request(s) therein.
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It should be crystal clear from the above that the drafting of a letter of representation is just not an easy issue of sending a short letter asking for leniency or declaring that you are sorry.
There are numerous requests to take into consideration and a variety of permutations of all Individuals requests, several of which may or may not be accessible or acceptable to you personally depending on the details of the scenario plus your have profile.
Only a criminal attorney is in a position to meaningfully suggest you on how to ideal progress your pursuits inside of a criminal investigation or prosecution.
Therefore, In case you are staying investigated for against the law in Singapore, you'll want to always look for legal guidance from a criminal lawyer at the earliest feasible chance.